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Monday, 4 April 2016

The Bribe Factory

EXCLUSIVE

WORLD’S BIGGEST BRIBE SCANDAL

PART 3

Unaoil: Dark secrets of Asian powers

Asian companies such as Hyundai, Samsung, Sinopec and
Petronas are household names. But they have dark secrets. In the latest
in Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post’s global bribery expose, these
firms and more are implicated for paying kickbacks, money laundering and
corruption.

Richard Baker, Michael Bachelard, Daniel Quinlan and Nick McKenzie

As Asian companies expand their global power and influence, the
Monaco-based bribe factory Unaoil has been quick to sign them up to its
corrupt business model.

A trove of leaked emails from inside Unaoil show it working closely
with Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas, as well as South Korean
titans Hyundai and Samsung, and even the Chinese government giant
Sinopec. The oil industry’s biggest ever scandal has also exposed Asian
conglomerates Yokogawa of Japan, South Korea’s ISU, Singapore’s Keppel
and Malaysian firm Ranhill.

The emails show some Asian executives are enthusiastic participants
in graft, underscoring the pervasive culture of corruption across the
region. It’s an alarming proposition as Asian companies develop into
some of the most powerful and influential players in global business.

The massive leak of files from Unaoil this week has already sparked
investigations by the US Department of Justice, the FBI, Britain’s
National Crime Agency and other authorities.

Today, we reveal how Unaoil’s corrupt dealings with its
multinational clients has also infected the fast-growing African oil
industry.

Malaysian millions: Petronas and Ranhill

Oil for many countries is by far the biggest game in town. Many
struggling oil-producing nations hire international companies to manage
their fields, hoping this will deliver the best value for their people.

The Iraqi government was hoping for such a result when it appointed
the Malaysian government-owned oil company Petronas to help manage huge
oil fields in Iraq’s south in 2010.

Then Unaoil stepped in. Unaoil had a client that wanted to secure a
large contract Petronas was overseeing. So Unaoil bribed Petronas
executives to rig the contract. Unaoil’s client was British oil services
firm Petrofac.

Leaked emails reveal that Unaoil agreed to pay millions of dollars
to a Malaysian middle man who claimed he could influence a top Petronas’
executive and other Malaysian officials in 2010.
“I’ll make [an] arrangement for us to see Mr [Petronas executive] when
I’m in Dubai,” middle man Affandi Yusuf wrote to Unaoil.

“As you are aware the situation is very sensitive at the moment.
I’ll have to meet Mr [Petronas executive] personally to make him
comfortable to meet up with your team.”

In a later email from Affandi, the middleman claims that, in return
for the bribes, his corrupt Petronas contacts had “fed us” inside
information from a tender committee. This ensured that Unaoil’s client
Petrofac qualified for a large contract.

“They have lived up to their obligation to get PF [Petrofac]
qualified technically. According to them, PF would have been initially
technically disqualified,” Affandi wrote in an email in which he
demanded money.

Petrofac responded that it did not condone bribery in any of its operations.

Note : The above is an extract from tn article in the Age. Please clich here for the full article :